Shane: Want to
repay the faith

Calcutta: Rajasthan Royals, on Monday, appointed Shane Watson as captain of the side for IPL VII. The Australian all-rounder will replace Rahul Dravid, who retired from all forms of cricket last year.

Former India captain Dravid, though, will mentor the side and will be involved in all aspects of strategy-making.

Watson, who has been with the Royals since the inaugural season in 2008, said he is honoured to lead the 2008 champions. “I am honoured to lead the Rajasthan Royals, an extraordinary team which has always given me amazing opportunities,” said the 32-year-old Australian.

“Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid had a lot of faith in me while they were captains and gave me opportunities that helped me to improve my game. The franchise now has shown the faith in me and bestowed upon me the honour to captain the side. I hope to repay the faith, to live up to the confidence shown in me by the franchise and give our fans an exciting season of cricket,” he said.

“My aim will be to continue playing our best cricket and maintain the winning momentum. We all want to repeat the 2008 IPL success and last season, we were quite close to that. I am confident that we can do it again,” he added.